Display-cabinet.



PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903.-

W. E. HOWRY.

DISPLAY CABINET.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 28, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

"m: ncmms Pz'rias 00 Pnamuma, WASNINGTO No. 717,997. PATBNTED JAN. 6, 1903.

' w. B. HOWRY.

DISPLAY CABINET.

APPLICATION run]: n11. 2a, 1902.

no menu. 2 slums-sum 2.

we NORRIS PETERS c0. morouwou WASHINGTON 04 c.

" NITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE;

WIIIBER E. HOWRY, OF WAHPETON, NORTH DAKOTA.

DISPLAY-CABIN ET.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No, 717,997, dated January 6, 1903.

zipbiimimi filed April28,1902. Serial No. 105,092. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that LWILBER E. HOWRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wahpeton, in the county of Richland and State of North Dakota,lhave invented a new and useful Display-Cabinet, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to display-cabinets.

The object of the invention is in a ready, convenient, practical, and attractive manner and in compact space to exhibit samples of an entire stock of lace in such style that the different patterns shall be sharply and clearly defined, thereby to permit inspection, discussion, and comparison without necessity of handling. f

A further object is to render the attendance of a clerk to give prices unnecessary until a customer shall have selected the pattern desired, obviating thereby waste of a clerks time and enabling the merchant t sell the lace at a closer margin. p

A further object is to obviate thefts of the samples and at the same time present them in salable lengths, so thatafter the stock of a particular pattern is exhausted the sample remaining may be sold at a profit.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear as the nature of theinvention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction and combination of parts of a display-cabinet, as Will be hereinafter fully described and claimed;

In the accompanying drawings, forming a.

perspective detail view of one of the sampleexhibitors. 'Fig. 4 is a View in elevation of one of the sample-exhibitors, showing the sections opened to display the interior thereof. Fig. 5 is a view in horizontal section through one of the exhibitors, displaying the manner of its construction. Fig. 6 is a detail view, in vertical section, through the rear portion of one, of the exhibitors. Fig. 7 is a View in elevation taken from the front edge of one of the exhibitors.

The cabinet comprises a stock holder or container 1 and a plurality of lace-exhibitors 2, associated for pivotal movement about vertical axes with the front portion of the stockholder.

The stock-holder is a box-like structure having a solid front 3 and an open rear side and is divided into a plurality of compartments or pigeonholes 4, in which the cards of lace are placed, each compartment being provided with a suitable index, such as a letter of the alphabet, corresponding with the sample carried by the exhibitor, by which arrangement a clerk may readily find the card of lace selected by the purchaser from the exhibitor, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The bottom of the stock-holderprojects outward beyond its front a distance somewhat greater than the length of the exhibitors and has secured to it adjacent to the front a strip 5, the function of which will presently be described, and the top 6 of the stock-holder also projects some distance beyond the front, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The lace-exhibitors 2, of which there are shown ten in this instance, although a greater or less number may be employed, if desired, are each constructed in precisely the same manner, so that a description of one will serve for all. Each exhibitor comprises two rectangular frames 7 and 8, hinged together at their. rear at 9, and the hinge-carrying member of one of the frames has associated with it at its opposite extremities two pintle-bearing plates 10, the pintles 11 of which are adapted to project through plates 12 and 13, carried, respectively, by the under side of the forward projecting portion of the top and by the upper side of the strip 5, the terminal of the lower pint-1e being designed to bear upon a plate 14:, associated with the under side of the said strip. In order to permit disconnection of the exhibitor from the stock-holder, the forward-projecting portion of the top is provided with sockets 15, (one only being shown in Fig. 2,) which aliue with the openings in the'plate 12, the sockets to be of such depth that when the full length of the upper pintle is housed therein the lower pintle will be out of engagement with the plate 13, and thus The exhibitor may be removed. Secured to the top and bottom member of each frame and spaced apart from the side members thereof are two battens 16, the opposed faces of which are oppositelyinclined, as at 17. These battens are disposed flush, or approximately so, with the inner sides of the frames, but are inset some distance from the outer sides to permit attachment thereof of a board or surface 18, having upon its outer or exposed side a facing 19 of colored material, such as paper, the object of which is to define the pattern of the lace, and constitutes therefore a pattern-definer. Associated with the battens are suitable lace-securing means comprising clcats20 made of thin strips of wood or metalin order that they may be readily sprung to position, the terminals of the cleats being designed to bear against the inclined walls of the battens adjacent to the board or surface 18. Where the lace is of ordinary width, but a single cleat will be necessary to hold a length thereof in position upon the exhibitor; but where the lace is of considerable width two or more cleats may be employed, as shown in Fig. 4:.

Secured to the outer side of each of the hinge-carrying members of the frames is a ticket-holder 21, consisting of a strip of metal bent upon itself in approximate U form and secured to the members by screws 22, passing through the inner limb, as clearly shown.in Figs. 2 and 3, the outer or unattached member of the ticker-holder being bent upon itself, as at 23, to obviate the presentation of sharp edges and also to present a flange or bearingsurface to impinge the tickets. The tickets 24. are held within the ticketholder by frictional contact between the opposed faces thereof, there being one ticket for each sample of lace, and these tickets bear an indexmark corresponding to the compartment in the stock-holder containing the card of lace corresponding to the sample and also the price of the lace per yard and, if desired, the costmark also. Thus a customer will be enabled without questioning the clerk to know in advance the price of the sample selected, thereby obviating frequent inquiry as to the price of the different samples exhibited. To hold two frame members of an exhibitor securely closed, any suitable fastening means may be employed, as a hook 25, adapted to engage a pin or eye 26 on the opposite member, it being understood that there is one of these fastening devices at each end of an exhibitor, as shown in Fig. 2.

When the exhibitors are associated with the stock-holder, as shown in Fig. 1, it is desirous that means should be provided whereby as they are swung backward and forward on their pivots there be no interference of one exhibitor with the lace carried by an adjacent one, and to obviate this the top member of one frame and the bottom member of the other frame are provided each with a fender or guard 27, (clearly exhibited in Fig. 7,) and by this arrangement as the exhibitors are swung the fenders will contact with the adjacent exhibitor and push it to one side.

As a means for preventing the lace from sagging intermediate of its ends a supporter is provided therefor in the nature of a cord 28, the same being let into a vertical groove in the surface 8, thus to lie fiush with the pattern-definer 19, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

In associating the samples of lace with the exhibitor the same is detached from the stockholder and its sections opened out flat. The lace is then cut ofi in salable lengthssay in pieces of a yard longand the terminals of the samples are inserted in the openings 29 between the battens and the vertical members of the frames 7 and 8, and the ends are laid upon the board 18, as shown in Fig. 4. The cleat is then taken and one end thereof inserted under the beveled wall of one of the battens, thereby securing that end of the sample, and is flexed and passed under the beveled wall of the other batten, thereby securely clamping the other end of the sample in the same manner and at the same time drawing it taut. This procedure is followed until all of the samples arein position. The members of the exhibitor are then closed, and the samples are then secured to the support 28, as by being stitched thereto, as shown at 30 in Fig. 2, thereby holding the series of samples in parallel relation to each other. In addition to preventing the samples from sagging the attachment to the support,in conjunction with the cleats, will prevent the samples from being stolen. When all of the samples are thus positioned, the tickets 24, bearing the indexmark and price of the sample, are positioned in the ticket-holder, as shown in Fig. 3.

In the use of the cabinet customers will examine the lace thereby exhibited, and when the desired pattern is selected the clerk simply notes the index-letter opposite it and will find the card bearing the lace of that pattern in the compartment of the stock-holder having the corresponding index-letter. When all of the lace of one pattern is sold, the sample may be detached from the exhibitor and be disposed of as a remnant.

It will be seen that in the use of this cabinet handling of the lace is obviated,that much valuable time which would otherwise be lostin answering questions as to price, 850., is saved, and that serving of customers will be expedited. Aside from these advantages a merchant will always be enabled to determine what stock of lace he is carrying and what designs are most salable, thus preventing the accumulation of stock either slow-selling or not desirable. Furthermore, where a customer desires to match a piece of lace she may accomplish this without consuming the time of a clerk for that purpose.

While the cabinet is herein described as being employed for the purpose of exhibiting samples of lace, it is to he understood that it is equally adaptable. for exhibiting samples of ribbon, edging, braids, and other narrow goods of like character, and as this will be readily understood detailed illustration thereof is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is I 1. A display-cabinet comprising a stockholder provided at its rear with indexed compartments, and at its front with a plurality of vertically-pivoted sample-exhibitors arranged side by side and provided exteriorly with a pattern-definer, and with indices corresponding to those of the compartments, and interiorly with sample-engaging means.

2. A display-cabinet comprising astockholder provided at its rear with open-ended compartments, and a plurality of sample-exhibitors pivoted in vertical position, side by side, at the front of the holder and provided exteriorly with a pattern-definer and interiorly with sample-engaging means.

3. A sample-exhibitor having its exposed surface colored to define the patterns of the samples, and means carried by the rear side of the exhibitor for holding the samples tightly stretched across the exposed surface.

4. A sample-exhibitor provided exterior-1y with a pattern-definer and interiorly with sample-engaging means.

5. A sample-exhibitor comprising a frame,

vertically-disposed battens associated therewith and spaced from the side members thereof, and resilient sample-locking means coacting with the battens.

6. A sample-exhibitor comprising aframe, vertically-disposed battens associated therewith and spaced from the side members thereof and having their opposed faces undercut, and resilient sample-locking means coacting with the undercut faces.

7. A sample-exhibitor comprising a frame, vertically-disposed battens associated therewith and spaced from the side members thereof and having their opposed faces undercut, and detachable sample-locking means coacting with the said faces.

8. A sample-exhibitor comprising a frame, interiorly-arranged sam ple-locking means associated therewith, and a pattern-exhibitor it said faces.

11. Asample-exhibitorcomprisingaframe, vertically-disposed battens associated therewith and spaced from the side members thereof and having their opposed faces undercut, and detachable cleats coacting with the said faces.

12. Asample-exhibitorcomprisingaframe, interiorly arranged sample locking means, and an exteriorly-arranged support to which the samples are adapted to be stitched.

13. A sample-exhibitor having its exposed surface constituting a patterndefiner, a sample-supporter associated with the definer, and detachable cleats carried by the rear portion of the exhibitor for holding samples stretched across the definer.

1%. A sample exhibitor comprising two frames hinged together, apatterndefiner disposed on the outer side of each frame, battens disposed on the inner side of each frame and having their opposed faces undercut, a vertically disposed sample supporter arranged across the definer, and detachable cleats coacting with the battens.-

15. In a display-cabinet, the combination with a stock-holder of a plurality of sampleexhibitors associated for pivotal movement therewith, and fenders carried by the exhibitors.

16. A display-cabinet comprising a stockholder p'rovidedwith indexed compartments, and a plurality of sample-exhibitors detachably connected with the holder and bearing indices corresponding with the compartments.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILBER E. HO WRY.

Witnesses:

W. J. DILLON,

J. H. JooHUM, Jr. 

